“[The] PS4 remains the cumulative leader for next-gen console sales in the U.S. since the launch on 15th November,” said a clever communications director Dan Race. “We sold every PS4 available at retail in the U.S. and were out of stock in December due to overwhelming consumer demand.” We doubt that the manufacturer will be overly concerned about a minor Microsoft victory, seeing as 2013 sales for the PlayStation maker’s latest console put its install base at 4.2 million units compared to its competitor’s three million units. Still, it shows that it needs to get stock into the region soon.

The new consoles helped to drive hardware sales up by two per cent year-over-year, up to $3.28 billion from $3.21 billion the year prior. This was propelled by a 28 per cent increase in console sales, though software sales still managed to decrease by 17 per cent to $1.28 billion. Unsurprisingly, the top ten consisted of the usual culprits, with Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Just Dance 2014, Madden NFL 25, and NBA 2K14 fleshing out the top five. Grand Theft Auto V slipped all the way into seventh, but was the overall best-selling game in 2013.

We’ve included the full list of movers and shakers in the space below. While we’re sure that the executives at SCEA will be frustrated by Microsoft’s ability to get more stock on store shelves throughout December, we still reckon that Sony’s global approach will serve it well in the long run. Estimates suggest that it wasn’t far behind its competitor in December – and yet it’s still managed to stomp the Xbox One elsewhere. As already suggested, though, that new stock needs to come in swiftly.